Quirindi  New South Wales

Quirindi is credited with being the home of polo in Australia, and it certainly bred one of our greatest polo players in Sinclair Hill - the man that Prince Charles long called on for advice on staying in the saddle.

In the first week of August each year the Northern Challenge Cup Polo Carnival attracts the best riders, ponies and aficionados from across the land to what is also a rollicking social turnout.

Billed as the Gateway to the North-west, Quirindi is set on a grain-growing plateau in the Liverpool Ranges, about 65km south-west of Australia's country music capital, Tamworth.

A short stroll on Station Street from the Memorial Clock, you'll find the local museum opposite the steam engine tethered on the other side of the road. It is housed in an old shop-residence built 1887 by Ben Ison.

Captain Cook Park, a flora and fauna reserve 5km out of town, is equipped with barbecues and other picnic facilities.

If you are into arts and crafts, set aside some time to visit Willow Tree, an attractive little village a few minutes drive to the south.